HPV infection may be linked to poor head and neck cancer survival rates in African-Americans

Overall, 4 percent of African American patients and 34 percent of white patients were HPV positive. Cullen said the survival difference was entirely due to HPV status, as survival rates were similar among HPV-negative patients.

Scott Lippman, M.D., chair of the Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and editor-in-chief of Cancer Prevention Research called the study "practice changing."

"Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is one of the fastest growing cancers, and this study gives us a new way to assess prognosis for our patients," said Lippman.

Interview with the study's lead researcher, Kevin Cullen, M.D., about the study's findings and possible clinical applications.

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